The last stand
by Live.Write.Love01
Summary: Rose has contracted a deadly disease with very little chance of surviving. Scorpius, when faced with reality that he might lose the one he loves, finally shows her how he feels. Eventual RW/SM. ASP/OC. Oneshot!


**the last stand**

_**Summary: Rose has contracted a deadly disease with very little chance of surviving. Scorpius, when faced with reality that he might lose the one he loves, finally shows her how he feels.**_

Rose hadn't gotten much sleep at all. Granted, she must have fallen asleep for at least an hour before waking up in a cold sweat, and to her roommate and close friend, Cheryl Greengrass-Prescott (Scorpius's cousin), looking over at her from the four poster bed across the room with a smooth eyebrow raised.

Cheryl wasn't the typical Slytherin, and in a way, Rose believed they had connected so much because of how alike they were. Sure, she had the looks – wavy brown hair, light blue eyes, perfectly sculpted face and skirt shorter than the rest (probably one of the prettiest girls she had ever seen in Hogwarts, beside Victoire) – but she wasn't nearly as mean or selfish as anyone, including Rose herself, expected her to be. She was thin, and no matter what the circumstance, she always smelled _good. _If she didn't have so much pride, she would ask what kind of perfume Cheryl used in a heartbeat. And because they were such good friends, each of them had decided to get matching dragon tattoos in black ink on the side of their right hands when they had turned of age.

"All right there, Rose? I've been watching you squirm for nearly half an hour" She said as she approached the bed, her feet sliding against the emerald carpet beneath them.

Groggily, Rose sat up and hugged the blanket closer to her, glancing at Cheryl as she sat down on the edge of her bed. Above them, the gentle laps of waves could be clearly heard, and was somewhat comforting. "Well I hope you enjoyed the show" She said sarcastically. "Why not wake me up?"

"Dunno" Cheryl yawned and pressed the back of her hand against her forehead to feel her temperature. But Rose grabbed it with her own hand, pushing it away.

"I'm fine, just bad sleep is all. Get back to bed, we have class tomorrow."

/

She had tried to go back to sleep once Cheryl had, she really tried. But, it was to no avail. No matter what, she couldn't fall back into the much needed unconscious state.

/

When it was time to get up, Rose sat on the edge of her bed with her elbows on her knees and face in hands; she had managed to shower and get ready and hour earlier, and was awaiting for all of her dorm mates to do the same. Yet as she sat, slumped over and pale, she couldn't will herself to get up or even move an inch. Let alone trudge up several flights of stairs to the great hall, then more and more stairs to get to each of her classes. Though she suspected it was simple exhaustion with a slight stomach ache and nothing to worry about, because she had been up all night in exception to the one hour of sleep she had gotten.

"Thought I heard you get up to the showers earlier, Weasley" Said Marian Coyne, another one of her roommates whom she wasn't exactly friends with.

"Yeah" She said, side glancing at Cheryl, who was putting on heavy loads of makeup around her eyes but warily glancing at Rose in the mirror. "I woke up early this morning, so decided why not"

"Right…well let's get going, shall we, Ann?" She asked, flicking her ugly blonde hair over her shoulder and strutting from the seventh year dormitory. Watching their backs and not bothering to utter a response, she scowled and laid back on her own bed, wanting nothing more than to crawl under the sheets and go back to sleep. Yet with a Transfiguration beginning of the year exam first thing after breakfast, she knew she could not skip out.

"Bimbos, those two" Said Cheryl as the door slammed shut. She turned around halfway in her seat to face Rose, sighing. "You look as if you had just seen Slughorn naked, you're so pale. The hell is wrong with you?"

"I didn't get any sleep at all last night, and I feel as if I'd just been struck by a Hippogriff in the stomach" She groaned in response, unwillingly standing up and straightening out her vest. She gripped one of the posts for support; suddenly feeling light headed, but quickly let it discard and straightened herself out.

"Sure I don't need to take you to Madame Pomfrey, love? That's one thing that's not on me to-do-list for today" Her friend said with raised eyebrows, her Scottish accent thick as she spoke and almost making it hard to understand (though Rose did, for she had known her for 7 years).

"Yes, I am sure. I'm just exhausted and stressed and…"

Cheryl quietly slipped on her robes and grabbed her wand, pocketing it. "Stressed?"

"Dad went off his rocker again when I told him I was going to Durban with Lysander for vacation a week before term started and then he gone off about how he was still disappointed I was the only Slytherin in the family besides Al and that I should have been the Gryffindor keeper instead, and Head Girl and all this rubbish." Rose explained, heading slowly out of the door arm and arm with her best friend (though Cheryl stood 3 inches shorter than her and made it slightly awkward) and off to the great hall for breakfast.

"Just ignore what 'e says, Rose. 'E's proud of you, just showing it wrongly."

/

At the great hall, the two ladies took their normal seats beside Rose's cousin Albus, and Scorpius Malfoy at the Slytherin table. Joining them as usual, were the girls other best friend, Alice Longbottom. It wasn't odd to see tables with students of other houses sitting there with their friends, especially at Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. But it was rare to see a Gryffindor at the Slytherin table, vice versa, than seeing a Slytherin at the Ravenclaw table, or Hufflepuff table. Alice was a bit out of place, and if you asked Rose, she might have felt awkward about it.

"I really can't believe I was made head girl this year, I mean I thought for sure you were going to get it Rosie but I guess they changed their minds! Not that I'm upset about that, well I am sorry that you didn't get it like you wanted but honestly it's so cool! It's exciting!" Alice rambled on quickly, brushing her fingers along one of her plants leaves – she usually carried it around. Herbology, like her father, was her guilty pleasure.

Rose wasn't interested in listening to her gobble on any further, and just smiled at her. "Well, you get to share a common room with dear Lorcan" She said quietly, nodding her chin in the Ravenclaw table's direction.

Alice blushed heavily. "Still I feel really bad. You and Scorpius were like total shoe in's – I wonder what my dad was thinking! Well I guess that's just it, I'm his daughter and Lorcan is amazing with this school work -"

"Please, Alice, will you talk normally? You're talking too fast for me brain to comprehend correctly" Said Cheryl after she swallowed her food.

She was pretty sure she was the only one _not _eating at the table full of Slytherin's.

"Hung over, Weasley?" Asked Scorpius, tuning into the girls conversation and briefly turning away from Albus and his other roommate, Markus Zabini. He looked over at Cheryl. "How'd you manage to get the firewhiskey in the dorm? I know Weasel's too clumsy to get it herself"

Going along with it, Cheryl said. "I have me ways with these kinds of things, Malfoy. Too bad Rose finished all two full bottles without me getting any of it me self."

"Any filthy secrets spilled? I'd love to get myself some great blackmail, and I'm sure Potter here would love it as much as I would." Scorpius snickered.

"Rose! How could you get drunk last night? This is unbelievable news; I never knew you were that kind of person to get absolutely trashed! No wonder you hadn't made Head Girl, with that reputation! Oh my Merlin, what would happen if my father found out you snuck firewhiskey into your dormitory! And Cheryl! You'll both be suspended for sure! And what would your parents say Rosie? They'd be so disappointed…I need to go water some plants to get this all out of my mind before I spill to daddy!" Ranted Alice, some of her words so rushed together not one of them could comprehend what she was saying.

Albus was the first to speak up, looking fairly interested. "Where can we smuggle some of that, Rosie? Cheryl?"

"I bet the house elves have some in the kitchen. Fancy to have a go, Potter?" Scorpius asked, smugly glancing in Rose's direction.

Rose scowled at them quad of them, scratching at a mosquito bite upon her knee with her black painted fingernails and looking over her shoulder to the Ravenclaw table for her current boyfriend of five months, Lysander. He hadn't been there this morning, but his twin brother Lorcan had managed to show up on his own.

"Have you seen Ly anywhere?" She asked them, feeling all too weak to utter a word but braving herself to do it anyway. She watched Scorpius's face transform into disinterest and anger right away, and he bowed his head to glare at his plate.

"Nope, sure haven't. How was the trip anyway? I've always wanted to go to South Africa." Alice asked, wide green eyes staring over at Rose's pale, slumped form without the slightest trace of worry.

"Oh, it was great" Rose mumbled, spearing a small piece of her French toast.

"Just great?" Albus retorted, nearly snorting. "You've been gone for two weeks and only came back the night before term began, and you haven't said a word about it. Lily's been really annoying when you weren't around to stay at our mansion those last few days, by the way."

"Look, I'm really tired. I'll tell you about it later, I guess." And with that, she stood up. "I'm going to get to class."

/

"Someone woke up with their knickers in a twist. What's up with her?" Albus questioned Cheryl and Alice the moment Rose had disappeared from the Great Hall entrance.

Cheryl shrugged and gently chewed on her own French toast. "I dunno. Woke up to her in a cold sweat last night, said she couldn't get any sleep when I went back me self." She explained, shrugging her petite shoulders. "Then this mornin' she said she felt like she's been hoofed by a Hippogriff."

"Maybe she's sick" Scorpius said simply, rolling his eyes. Truth of the matter, his good mood was thoroughly fouled at the mention of that bloke, Lysander Scamander, who had taken Rose to himself. "It'll pass over."

The four of them shrugged it off and thought nothing more of it.

/

It was in Defense against the Dark Arts that Cheryl was beginning to get genuinely worried about her friends health. She had barely prodded her with her finely polished, long finger nail to get her attention – because for the first 30+ minutes of class Rose had her head down – and the girl had nearly screamed "Ow" before brushing it off like it was nothing. And then, when she had looked over at Cheryl to ask her what the "bloody hell" that was for, she was surprised to find her lips an unnatural shade of blue, as if she was cold.

"All right Rose, are you okay? First you say you're not feeling well, and then you're too tired…and now your skin is sore and your lips are practically blue?" Cheryl asked when Professor Ambrose had stopped speaking and they were to focus on their own work.

Rose, who had her head down, mumbled. "I don't know…I don't feel well at all. Probably nothing"

"Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?" She pressed.

"No"

"You're so stubborn, you know that? Here I am, worried out of me knickers for you…I think you're definitely coming down with something."

/

It was when they had been exiting the classroom that Rose had collapsed. And when "Rennervate" would not wake her up.

/

Needless to say, Rose had been rushed to St. Mungos upon immediate realization of Madame Pomfrey, that what this girl had was not the flu, or spattergot, or anything she had ever dealt with. The remaining Weasley's, Potter's, Cheryl, Scorpius and Lysander had all been informed of Rose's condition the moment they had been shooed off to the wizarding hospital. Most of the family was there, yet most importantly her parents, brother, Albus's parents and James.

Rose had contracted a disease during her visit to Durban, South Africa, with the Scamander's. It was from a small mosquito bite that threatened her life to the borderline where if she had not been admitted to the hospital the moment she was, she could have died immediately. Her doctor, Dr. Sullivan had commented that this was the worst case of Malaria that she had ever seen, and Ms. Weasley was lucky to be alive.

Scorpius couldn't explain the thoughts running through his head, as he paced the halls in front of her room. He could hear the doctors inside as they rushed around, attempting to get her kidney's to work and to keep the disease from attacking anymore of her blood cells. Part of him wanted to burst into those doors and scream at them to use any kind of magic they could, or ask why their magic wasn't working, but being logical Scorpius had to remember that not everything could be cured by a flick of one's wand or a sip of potion.

Lysander's presence wasn't helping any.

Suddenly, just as he was walking to sit down on a bench beside Albus, who was hand in hand with Cheryl, Dr. Sullivan exited the room, looking pale and tired. Mrs. Weasley was the first to question her, in tears. "What's going on? Is my baby alright?"

"Well, malaria is a dangerous disease as you know, Mrs. Weasley and Rose's is currently the worst we've seen in years and we're not exactly sure…" Dr. Sullivan paused. "We're not exactly sure if she'll make it passed the 38 hour mark. If she does however, respond to our potions and the spells that we've used, she'll be moved to immediate intensive care for bed rest and recovery."

There was silence, before Lysander spoke up. "So you're telling me my girlfriend might die?"

"It appears so." Dr. Sullivan frowned, and Mrs. Weasley and Potter broke down in hysterics. Scorpius fell to his knees beside the bench, not even bothering to pick himself up, and buried his face into his hands.

/

Thirty eight hours passed.

Rose Elizabeth Weasley was still alive.

Unlike Lysander, Scorpius had stayed at St. Mungos the longest out of all of her friends, and sat at her bedside willing her to get better.

When she woke up and was moved into intensive care, Scorpius told her how he felt about her, how he loved her.

/

She got better over a period of two weeks. And broke up with Lysander.

Scorpius couldn't be more happy in his life when she told him that she loved him back, and had for the last 7 years she's known him.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ahh hoped you liked it! I couldn't bring myself to have a sad ending with this one...not sure why - I usually like those angsty stories that end with the unexpected. But I love Rose too much to kill her off :P Hehe. Hoped you liked!<strong>_

_**Cheryl and Rose's matching tattoo's (without spaces):**__ h tt p .blogs p ot. co m / _bQ0SqifjNcg/TH6mWJKUusI /AAAAAAA AcCA/UEf1W6lo6I o/ s4 00 /h and-t _

_**Side Note: I didn't know if it was a good idea writing in the POV of my OC character, Cheryl, or not…but it kind of felt necessary. I was even thinking of submitting a story about her, yet I'm not too sure. Alice is kind of OC, considering she doesn't actually exist, but…oh well! Lol.**_

_**AND. Who else saw Deathly Hallows Part 2? Oh my God it was absolutely amazing! I was literally bawling my eyes out...I can't believe it's over. :( My childhood has been ripped away from me.**_

_**Anyway...Be sure to leave your feedback! **_


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